Cauliflower "Rice" - (a review)

This seems to be a Pinterest favorite among the low carb, no carb, paleo dieters. I've seen Cauliflower used as a substitute for both rice dishes and as a sub for mashed potatoes. The cauliflower puree as a mashed potato substitutes is great. With enough seasonings, you can't taste the flavor of the cauliflower and you get the texture of a creamy, almost runny, non-dairy potatoes. You're out of luck of you like your potatoes chunky or thick though. And there's no way you'd get the the complex texture from smashed red skin potatoes.

However... I've found that this cooking method makes cooking cauliflower SO MUCH FASTER and easier, And you get a really flavorful side dish there you won't miss the carbs (much). The calorie savings is pretty significant too. Approximately 25 cal (raw or steam cooked) per cup instead of 200 (white, steamed). Considering that you get about 2 cups of rice in your panda express meal... that's pretty damn significant.

So far, I've made a few dishes with the riced cauliflower.

Ginger Scallion Cauliflower

Curry Cauliflower, (under the chicken)

Cauliflower Fried "Rice"

(Pictured side by side with fried rice) 

If you have a sensitive pallet, you will definitely taste the cauliflower. I also noticed that you need to season pretty liberally - more than you would when cooking with rice. 

Will post actual recipes over the weekend. If you've used cauliflower as a rice or couscous substitute, let me know how you like it or what you do with it in the comments.